I thought this friends observations were interesting. Luanna lives just
outside Plain City and her property is in my OHOS Christmas Bird Count
circle. I count on her observations for my day-of-sightings for the
Red-headed Woodpeckers.
I was lucky in either 1990 -or 1991 to find a nesting tree in Dublin at the
Red Trabue Preserve, before there were houses in the complex. I watched a
family feed and fledge two young and it was interesting watching the family
feed and fly across fields towards Plain City. There were other birds than
the parents flying back and forth. It seemed more like a small colony in the
area.
Darlene Sillick
Powell, Ohio
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 6:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: FW: [Ohio-birds] Red Headed Woodpeckers
Yes, I have a nesting tree in my back yard. You see, we do not cut down our
dead trees in order to maintain a habitat for the woodpeckers. We have them
all. I know when the tree is going to fall when they vacate it. I
discovered this several years ago with a dead tree along our driveway that
the red-headeds nested in for several years. Then one year they did not
nest there and the tree fell over. In all the years we have lived here,
only one winter was without the red headed. It was noted that there were
not many acorns that fall.
Luanna
Luanna
In a message dated 5/31/2009 10:18:29 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Hi Luanna,
I thought you might find this interesting about the Red-headed Woodpeckers.
Do you still see them in Plain City? Have you ever found a nesting tree?
Hope all is well!
Thanks,
Darlene
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill
Whan
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Red Headed Woodpeckers
A century ago, red-headeds were the commonest woodpecker in Ohio.
Perhaps they'd flourished with the clearing of the virgin forests, as I
imagine them as a bird of open country. They often nested in towns, and
people complained about the racket they made, and condemned their
damage to orchards. Many called them and the downy woodpecker
"sapsuckers." Before birds were protected by law--and probably
thereafter--they were widely persecuted. Audubon wrote of a hundred
being shot on a single cherry tree in one day. You know what they say
about familiarity and contempt.
Their numbers are much diminished today. When mast crops are good,
some
winter in Ohio by surviving on stashed acorns, etc. In warm weather,
they are fond of insects, catching them in mid-air, gorging on ants on
the ground, etc. Like other woodpeckers they are indifferent fliers, and
because they often pursue bugs across open areas, they were more often
killed by automobiles than nearly any rural bird.
Red-headeds use cavities, especially in dead trees, for nesting and
food storage. Their winter numbers fluctuate with the mast crop; I guess
their summer numbers don't as much. These are often the first trees cut
in woodlots, parks, golf courses, etc., so birders have gotten used to
looking for them in dead trees that are a little harder to cut down,
such as in swampy sites. They used to make use of utility poles, too,
but chemical treatments today discourage them, and of course wooden
fence posts, along with woodpeckers, bluebirds, etc., are disappearing.
So times are tough for these birds, but if you look in the right
places
they are around. Because they like mature trees, especially
oak/hickory/beech, seek those out. Because they like open spaces as
well, look along the edges of large woodlands, or in woodlots in rural
situations, especially those with a fairly open understory. A farmhouse
set in a nice grove of big nut trees, with the ground cleared beneath
them, often will host them. If you're in old prairie territory, check
out isolated mottes of big old oaks. Old orchards can be good, too. They
like good lookouts, and it pays to check out high snags, tops of dead
trees, telephone poles. A flooded stand of tall skeletal hardwoods is
always worth checking. A study was made of golf courses in Ohio as sites
for these birds recently, with what results I can't say. Probably others
will have more suggestions.
Anyway, I'm not seeing more of these handsome birds lately, but they
are still to be seen, and well worth it.
Bill Whan
Columbus
Greg Spahr wrote:
> In the last week, I have seen two different Red Headed Woodpeckers (one
> in Seneca County near Fostoria, and the other in Greene County in
> downtown Wilberforce). Usually, I can go for years without seeing one,
> and I happened to just stumble upon these two. So I thought I would
> ask the group how your perceptions of this species are this year. Are
> you seeing more of them, or did I just get lucky and see a couple even
> though they are still declining in Ohio?
>
> Good birding,
>
> Greg Spahr
> Fairborn, Ohio
>
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